March 20, 2013

Garrett, like most coaches, concerned with how officials will call new helmet rule for running backs

The NFL passed a new rule on Wednesday, outlawing running backs from targeting
defenders with the crown of their helmets outside the tackle box and three
yards down field.

Cowboys coach Jason Garrett, like many other coaches around
the league, expressed concerns on how the officials will call it. Running backs are allowed to lower their shoulders to protect the ball but they can't use their helmets to deliver a blow.

“It’s really a tricky thing from the standpoint of, it’s so
well intended,” Garrett said. “We all understand the challenges that it puts
the officials in. A lot of the defenseless players calls they’ve had to make over
the last couple years, they’re hard calls. The game happens fast, and they’ve
got to be bang. He hit him with his head first, it wasn’t his shoulder. Players
duck. All the things that go into making those snap judgments, they’re
difficult, and I think that’s the real concern that the coaches might have, is
simply that. It’s a hard rule to officiate, and far be it from us to say we
understand what an official’s going through, but the game does happen fast, those
collisions happen quickly. I think it’s well-intended.”